Andy Murray returns a shot during his men's singles final match during the 2012 US Open in New York City, on Sept. 10, 2012.
As Andy Murray served for match point at this year’s U.S. Open against Novak Djokovic, the significance of the moment crept into his head. After all, no British man had won a Grand Slam men’s single since Fred Perry – all the way back in 1936. And over the years, the British press never shied away from reminding Murray of the U.K.’s tennis failure. After a Djokovic shot sailed long, giving Murray the match, he knew one thing for sure: “Don’t’ have to get asked that stupid question again,” he said.
Murray’s epic win closed out a satisfying summer. Though he lost to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final, and choked up afterwards, he took gold, at Wimbledon, in the Olympics. The U.S. Open match, which Murray won 7-6 (12-10), 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 took 4 hours, 54 minutes, tied for the longest in U.S. Open history. Murray was making his fifth appearance in the Grand Slam final, and after relinquishing his two-set advantage to let Djokovic force a decisive fifth set, he seemed to lose all momentum. “At the end of the fourth set, you are thinking, ‘What’s gone on here?’” Murray said. Now that Murray has broken through, don’t expect Great Britain to wait another 76 years for a major.
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